CHICAGO — At 6:05 a.m. Monday, Wilmette’s surprisingly desolate Linden “L” station held just a few people: stragglers blearily walking to their trains, a CTA worker leaning against the wall — and three enthusiastic people heading out to set a Guinness World Record.
That record entailed visiting all 146 CTA train stations in less than 9 hours and 15 minutes, from the North Shore to Midway to the Loop to O’Hare and all points in between, via trains, buses and running more than 4 miles between stops. The record would require the trio to get off the train and take a selfie at every “L” stop.
The three record-seekers were optimistic, but the unseasonably early snowstorm didn’t help their cause. The group was made up of West Town resident Matthew Plese, 37, who heads a Catholic education website; Joabe Barbosa, 25, a psychology grad student at Roosevelt University; and his brother James Barbosa, 19, a second-year student at Georgetown College in Kentucky, who kept time and records during the attempt.
As with most world record attempts, this effort begs a singular question: Why?
For starters, they want to get the word out about Chicago and combat the lazy stereotypes of it as a dangerous, impassable city, Plese said.
“We think Chicago is one of the best places in the whole world, and we want more people to come here and understand how easy it is to get around,” he said. “It’s about showing people that you can go to Little India on the North Side, Little Village on the Southwest Side and anywhere in between on the CTA.”
On Monday, Nov. 10, a team of 3 people — James Barbosa, Matthew Plese and Joabe Barbosa — attempted to set a new Guinness World Record for the fastest time to visit every station on the CTA ‘L’ train system. Credit: Victor Hilitski/Block Club Chicago
And the 9 hour, 15-minute deadline? “That’s the figure Guinness gave us,” Joabe Barbosa said with a shrug.
Surrounded by a few friends and helpers — one of whom responded to a volunteer request on Instagram — the three stepped under the Linden station’s fluorescent light.
“I’m nervous because I don’t have control here — I run marathons, and that’s in my control,” Barbosa said. “But here, I don’t have that.”
“He’s a very anxious guy,” James Barbosa chimed in.
Then, with everything else set, the three coordinated their stopwatches, adjusted their backpacks stuffed with ham-and-cheese sandwiches and energy drinks and — most importantly — tied their Chicago flags around their necks.
“We’ve got to represent!” Joabe Barbosa said.
At 7:22 a.m., they set off running to get onto the train, their capes trailing behind them.
On Monday, Nov 10, a team of 3 people — James Barbosa, Matthew Plese, and Joabe Barbosa — attempted to set a new Guinness World Record for the fastest time to visit every station on the CTA “L” system. Credit: Victor Hilitski/Block Club Chicago
A Dream Realized
The initial idea for the world-record odyssey sprang from a dream the older Barbosa had in September, when he dreamt that he and running partner Plese ran to all of Chicago’s 77 community areas.
Joabe Barbosa told Plese about his dream the next morning, and Plese asked, “‘What about the CTA? Why don’t we run to every CTA station?’” Joabe Barbosa recalled. “And we were like, ‘Well, what the hell — that would be difficult. Let’s do it.’”
Similar records have been established in New York and London, which is one of the main reasons Plese wanted to accomplish it in Chicago.
“If they can do it there, why not here?” he said.
But this being an official world record attempt, the process must be meticulously documented to meet the notoriously strict Guinness standards. Records must include:
- Time-stamped pictures at every “L” stop
- Each stop logged at exact moment of arrival
- Periodic testimony from impartial witnesses at the start and end of the effort
- Critically, they must break no laws in the process, or it’s over.
The precisely planned route had them starting at Linden and heading to Howard, then to Skokie via the Yellow Line. The journey had barely started when they heard a combination of terrifying words at Howard: “Train.” “Equipment.” “Failure.”
“We had to wait 15 minutes there,” Plese said.
“I was going to go into a totally depressive state,” Joabe Barbosa said.
On Monday, Nov. 10, a team of 3 people — James Barbosa, Matthew Plese and Joabe Barbosa — attempted to set a new Guinness World Record for the fastest time to visit every station on the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) ‘L’ train system. Credit: Victor Hilitski/Block Club Chicago
On Monday, Nov. 10, a team of 3 people — James Barbosa, Matthew Plese and Joabe Barbosa — attempted to set a new Guinness World Record for the fastest time to visit every station on the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) ‘L’ train system. Credit: Victor Hilitski/Block Club Chicago
They eventually made the Yellow Line loop, and their route proceeded like this:
- They got back onto the Red Line and rode it south to 95th, then back north to Cottage Grove
- followed by a 1.2-mile run to the Green Line
- that led them to a bus ride
- then more Green Line
- the Orange Line to Midway
- a bus to the Pink Line
- a transfer to the Green Line (again)
- a 1.2-mile run to the Forest Park Blue Line stop
- an exit at the Addison stop
- and a 1.8-mile run to the Brown Line, which they took Downtown to the Blue Line, which they rode to O’Hare.
The rest of the trek largely went smoothly — except for the blinding snow, gusty winds, ankle-deep slush and a 17-minute wait at Cottage Grove.
Later, the group saw that Yellow Line service had been suspended — bullet dodged.
On Monday, Nov. 10, a team of 3 people — James Barbosa, Matthew Plese and Joabe Barbosa — attempted to set a new Guinness World Record for the fastest time to visit every station on the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) ‘L’ train system. Credit: Victor Hilitski/Block Club Chicago
The flags-as-capes proved to be a master stroke, Joabe Barbosa said.
“People were drawn to the flags and would come talk to us, and we’d say, ‘Hey, can you sign this witness sheet?’” he said. “Otherwise, we’d have to go up and talk to them, and they’d probably think we were trying to sell them solar panels or something.”
Despite Joabe Barbosa’s jokes, the goal has weightier roots for him: In 2024, Joabe was hiking New Hampshire’s Mount Washington when a sudden winter storm hit. He kept hiking but fell into a ravine in the dark and sustained serious injuries. This accident gave him a bigger-picture appreciation for life, he said.
“Life’s too short to just go to work, come back home and only focus on mundane things,” he said. “I want to step out of my comfort zone — I don’t want to just do ordinary things. I’d rather do extraordinary things.”
On Monday, Nov. 10, a team of 3 people — James Barbosa, Matthew Plese and Joabe Barbosa — attempted to set a new Guinness World Record for the fastest time to visit every station on the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) ‘L’ train system. Credit: Victor Hilitski/Block Club Chicago
‘We Had To Have A Few Things Go Our Way — And They Did’
Some eight and a half hours after setting out, the three were standing on the first car of a Blue Line train heading to O’Hare, reveling in their likely record-setting accomplishment.
“To make it, we had to have a few things go our way — and they did,” Plese said.
Those things included Joabe Barbosa frantically sprinting for a bus and train, which he caught and held for his two comrades.
“We crushed it,” he said.
Eight hours, 58 minutes, and 55 seconds after they began, at 4:20 p.m., the trio stepped onto the O’Hare Blue Line platform, exchanging hugs and high-fives as commuters streamed past. They had done it. For them, this was about more than breaking a record — it was about proving what they said at the start: Chicago is a city you can truly explore, from corner to corner, on the CTA.
They still had to do the official paperwork for Guinness, but for the three record holders, the hardest part was already behind them. The group was ready to head home, although Joabe Barbosa said he wasn’t thrilled for the ride back into the city.
“I never want to sit on another train again,” he said.
See more photos from the record attempt:
On Monday, Nov. 10, a team of 3 people — James Barbosa, Matthew Plese and Joabe Barbosa — attempted to set a new Guinness World Record for the fastest time to visit every station on the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) ‘L’ train system. Credit: Victor Hilitski/Block Club Chicago
Joabe Barbosa, wearing a Chicago flag cape, passes through a turnstile at the Linden Purple Line station to officially start the team’s successful Guinness World Record attempt to visit all 146 stations on the Chicago CTA ‘L’ system on Monday, Nov 10, 2025. Credit: Victor Hilitski/Block Club Chicago
On Monday, Nov. 10, a team of 3 people — James Barbosa, Matthew Plese and Joabe Barbosa — attempted to set a new Guinness World Record for the fastest time to visit every station on the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) ‘L’ train system. Credit: Victor Hilitski/Block Club Chicago
On Monday, Nov. 10, a team of 3 people — James Barbosa, Matthew Plese and Joabe Barbosa — attempted to set a new Guinness World Record for the fastest time to visit every station on the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) ‘L’ train system. Credit: Victor Hilitski/Block Club Chicago
On Monday, Nov. 10, a team of 3 people — James Barbosa, Matthew Plese and Joabe Barbosa — attempted to set a new Guinness World Record for the fastest time to visit every station on the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) ‘L’ train system. Credit: Victor Hilitski/Block Club Chicago
On Monday, Nov. 10, a team of 3 people — James Barbosa, Matthew Plese and Joabe Barbosa — attempted to set a new Guinness World Record for the fastest time to visit every station on the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) ‘L’ train system. Credit: Victor Hilitski/Block Club Chicago
On Monday, Nov. 10, a team of 3 people — James Barbosa, Matthew Plese and Joabe Barbosa — attempted to set a new Guinness World Record for the fastest time to visit every station on the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) ‘L’ train system. Credit: Victor Hilitski/Block Club Chicago
On Monday, Nov. 10, a team of 3 people — James Barbosa, Matthew Plese and Joabe Barbosa — attempted to set a new Guinness World Record for the fastest time to visit every station on the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) ‘L’ train system. Credit: Victor Hilitski/Block Club Chicago
On Monday, Nov. 10, a team of 3 people — James Barbosa, Matthew Plese and Joabe Barbosa — attempted to set a new Guinness World Record for the fastest time to visit every station on the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) ‘L’ train system. Credit: Victor Hilitski/Block Club Chicago
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